


a flying honeymoon (come fly with me)

by fluffy_miracle



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Abused Klaus Hargreeves, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, BDSM, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Bars and Pubs, Bathroom Sex, Blood, Blood and Gore, Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys in Skirts, Crucifixion, Daddy Issues, Dave had PTSD, Dave rescues Klaus, Dave-centric, Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Drugs, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Good, Explosions, Falling In Love, Family, Family Issues, Flashbacks, Fucked Up, Gang Rape, Gangbang, Getting to Know Each Other, Grief/Mourning, Happily Ever After, Happy Ending, Healing, Human Trafficking, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Incest, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Has PTSD, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, Love, M/M, Made For Each Other, Makeup, Manipulation, Mental Health Issues, Mind Manipulation, Modern Era, Near Death Experiences, New York City, Past Dave/Klaus Hargreeves, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Torture, Past Underage, Pining, Post Slavery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Dynamics, Predator/Prey, Quickies, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Recovery, Reginald Hargreeves Bashing, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Reginald is an abusive fuck, Rehabilitation, Rescue, Resurrected Dave Katz, Resurrection, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sexual Slavery, Slave Klaus Hargreeves, Slavery, Slaves, Sort Of, Stigmata, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Superpowers, Talking To Dead People, Time Travel, Timelines, Torture, Umbrella Academy - Freeform, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Vietnam War, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, Withdrawal, high, kind of, reginald is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24381802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_miracle/pseuds/fluffy_miracle
Summary: Dave was brought to modern New York City six months ago. He doesn't know why or how. The only thing he knows for sure is that he was pretty sure he died in the Vietnam War. His family doesn't believe him. The police don't believe him. Random people on the street don't believe him.So he tries to find his way in this new time. He gets a job, puts his head down, and works to build a life. He misses Klaus. He always wonders what happened to him until one night he unwittingly finds out. Klaus has been a slave for the past four years and no one has been able to find him. He was trafficked as a junkie and has been kept a junkie until now when Dave buys him without realizing fully who he is.Klaus is fucked up and so is Dave. Add in withdrawal, confusion, PTSD, and family issues up the wazoo... Will they ever find a happy ever after or will everything always come between them?(Please read the tags).
Relationships: Dave & Klaus Hargreeves, Dave/Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 13
Kudos: 112





	1. flying high, high as a kite.

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from "Come fly with me" by Frank Sinatra.

Dave was not the kind of person who frequented sketchy back alleys. But this didn’t explain why he was entering what was probably the seediest establishment in New York City. His explanation was silly if not a little stupid, he had seen the most beautiful looking man being dragged in here and he had looked like he needed help. There was no sign of him now, just Dave and a few other people littered around the bar nursing stiff drinks.

“Thank you all for joining us tonight.” Someone was speaking from the stage which was suddenly illuminated. The light was too bright. Everyone blinked, recoiling from it as it distracted them all from what they didn’t want them to see. Dave noticed through from his perch at the bar as they locked the door. For whatever this next portion was, no one else was coming in or going out. “So excited to have our 72nd closed auction here. We have a good line-up for this evening, so please enjoy the show. We have two parts to the auction tonight, so please, refrain from bidding until we open up the floor.”

Dave had a sinking feeling that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It felt like Vietnam all over again or maybe that was just the fact the man he had followed had reminded him of the lost soul he had fallen head over heels with while serving his country in a war that never should have happened. It was too late to leave now, just like how he couldn’t quite remember anything between three months ago and being shot somewhere in the jungle. He shouldn’t have come. There was no way the man was who he wanted him to be. Klaus had probably died out in Vietnam like Dave thought he had. And if he hadn’t… he was probably settled down with a dog if not a partner and some kids. He probably didn’t even remember Dave and Dave wasn’t going to come back from the dead and ruin what life he had now. 

Dave signaled for another drink when he realized that this auction specialized in living, breathing human beings. He sipped at his drink, trying to school his face into something less horrified. He had been in a war for fuck’s sake. He had seen a lot of shit overseas, but nothing that compared to this.

“Number 828469.” The auctioneer was wrapping the evening up. Dave hadn’t dared to move during the bidding. He didn’t want to end up accidentally buying someone. He didn’t think he had enough money to even look at the people they were selling. “We all know him and we all love him. Sadly, this is probably his last trip to the block, folks.” Dave glanced up, curiosity piqued. He gasped into his alcohol when he recognized the man as the one who led him into this place in the first place. The resemblance was uncanny. 

He was clearly high. His eyes were glassy and unfocused. His fingers tapped against his bare thigh, some rhythm only he knew. Dave doubted that this man who looked far too much like his long lost love even knew he was on stage in front of people. He was naked save for a black thong which didn’t leave much to the imagination. Dave was blown away, but not for the reasons the auction was going for.

“Klaus.” He whispered. His fingers twitched, recognizing that some part of his brain was going to try to save this man on that principle alone. He looked exactly like a lost lover, a lost boy in war none of them should have ever been in. What a lousy reason to be at a human auction, staring at the block with eyes wide. 

“He’ll be put down if he is returned to me. He needs a strong hand and a stronger master. He’s high as a kite, so you’ll have to pay for his habit if you don’t want to deal with a slave in withdrawal.” The man was droning on, but when he asked for bids, Dave raised his hand. They were only asking $100 for Klaus’s doppelganger and so Dave figured it was worth the shot. He had lived through Vietnam… Okay, that was a bad example, but still, he could do this.

He really did need to figure out how the fuck he was alive when he clearly remembered being shot, Klaus crying over him. Fuck. He needed a cigarette or something as he clenched his fist around his glass instead. “Sold to the new guy who has no fucking clue what he’s getting his sorry ass into.” There were some chuckles from around him. “Pick up your purchases at the back after the transactions. And don’t get caught. We won’t back you up. Oh, and remember there are no returns this auction. If your purchases don’t work out, they are your problem. The Hudson does help on occasion, but you didn’t hear that from me.” More chuckles and Dave tossed back what was left of his drink. He needed to get out of there.

Dave paid with his debit card, something that made the woman running the register laugh. He was clearly the poorest person in the room, but it didn’t bother him. He was somehow alive again. That was all the wealth he needed. Though maybe when he got a better job he would try this therapy thing all the kids were talking about. Buying a man just because he reminded Dave of his old, war boyfriend was probably a sign that he should talk to someone. But who would believe him? He had tried to see his family and they were either dead or in denial that it was really him.

Dave hadn’t fought it. He didn’t want the money or whatever the will said went to him. He had just wanted to see his family again. He had never been given the privilege to come home from the war. And now that he was back, well, they didn’t want to see him anyway. They had already grieved him and now he had to grieve them. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and followed another person behind the counter to the back. 

The back was not as neat as the bar. It was dark and smelled like piss. It made Dave feel on edge, like he was walking into an ambush.

“Here he is, the lucky owner.” The auctioneer walked up to Dave and shook his hand. “Now he is a handful, but you won’t have a problem with that, will you?”

“No, sir.”

“Sir, huh? You ex-military?” The auctioneer was sizing him up out of the corner of his eye.

“Yes.” Dave bobbed his head. He knew better now than to say Vietnam. Everyone just thought he was crazy.

“Oh, then you won’t have too many problems with our dear boy then. He loves the military. He claims to have served, but I doubt it. The US military is not in the habit of allowing crack whores to enlist. Still he has a fetish for it and listens better when he is in military scenes. Have fun, his ass doesn’t quit.” The man laughed loudly, making up for Dave’s quiet sound of indignation. What the fuck had he gotten himself into? Another man came up, dragging someone behind him on a leash. “Here he is.” The leash was handed over to Dave who had come face to face with the ghost of Klaus. His knees trembled as he wrapped the leash around his hand. 

“Thank you.” He nodded, making his way out the door, pulling the man he had just bought behind him. The man was still as high as a kite. “Hey, what’s his name?” He asked just outside the door. He heard laughter echoing around from inside before the auctioneer leaned out to answer him.

“Kid, that’s the beauty of it. Whatever you wanna call him. He’s yours. He’s all yours.” The rain started to fall from the heavy clouds, turning the dark streets into neon as puddles formed under overhangs and potholes in the street.

“Uh, thanks.” Dave hurried away, not slowing his pace until he realized the slave was having a hard time keeping up. His bare feet were bleeding, something that Dave had failed to realize until right now. Shit. They were both soaked by the steady rain. “Come on.” Dave pulled the slave’s arm over his shoulder, taking on most of his weight. He weighed nearly nothing, but he stank up to high heaven. He smelled like sweat, sex, and piss. He smelled like one shower wouldn’t be enough, as the rain hadn’t done much to help, kind of like how Dave had smelled after working on the latrines in the jungle heat. “Sorry about your feet.”

“They don’t want me to run.” His voice was pitched high as he started to giggle. “Like I’m not already flying.” 

“What did they give you?”

“My medicine.” And then the slave fell silent again, unresponsive. That only served to make Dave more nervous. He couldn’t bring him inside his apartment building with blood and nudity making a comeback on the runway of New York streets. He spotted the fire escape and hauled the slave up after him. 

“Stay.” He tied the slave’s leash to the balcony, convinced that the man wasn’t sound enough to untie the knots. He hurried to the door, letting himself in quickly. He ran up seven flights of stairs and hurried to the back bedroom that led to the fire escape balcony. “Shit!” The slave was nowhere to be seen even if the leash was still tied… the leash twitched and David rushed over to find his slave dangling from his neck, a peaceful expression on his face. “For fuck’s sake!” He hurriedly pulled him up, like pulling a wounded soldier up into a helicopter, and checked his vitals. His heart was still beating and his lungs were still breathing. Dave cussed, wiping the sweat and rain off of his face. He hauled the man into his apartment and into the bathroom, promptly running the shower. He’d scrub him down, clean him up, and then bandage what he could with his barely stocked first aid kit. Then he had to go to sleep and get up for work in the morning. They’d have to figure something out as they went along. This guy was going to end up in withdrawals and there was nothing Dave could do. He had seen enough of what drugs could do. He wouldn’t be keeping this guy under. It wasn’t humane. It wasn’t right. They’d get through withdrawals and they’d do it together-- he had some vacation days saved up.

After the slave was dressed in some of Dave’s pjs, Dave bundled him up on the couch. He looked different without the collar and the leash. He looked differently clothed. He looked almost young, at least near Dave’s age or what Dave’s age was when he was thrust into this strange, sometimes awful new world.

Dave showered next, dried off, and changed into sweatpants. He collapsed into bed and hoped tomorrow would not be as weird as today had been, He hoped the slave would sleep most of the day and then they could come up with some kind of plan. And he also needed to figure out how to free the man. He wasn’t about to own another person. He wasn’t cut out to be anyone’s master. He could barely take care of himself.


	2. And now he's so devoid of color

Withdrawals sucked. Dave wasn’t even the one experiencing the withdrawals, but it still bothered him to see the man in so much pain.

The slave was another person under the influence. He turned from a fragile, broken-looking thing to a person with sharp words and sharper fists. He had fight in him, but Dave wasn’t going to back down.

“I need it!” He screamed in Dave’s face, making yet another break for the door. Dave wrestled him away yet again, getting a knee to the crotch for his troubles. “There’s a guy who gives it to me for a fast fuck…” He glanced down, eyes flying wide as he realized what he had done. He had hurt a master.

“Fuck!” Dave went down, curling up on himself. The slave stared down at him with wild eyes, frozen as some other part of his brain seemed to remind him that behavior like this got him in trouble. The slave shivered, stepping around Dave and heading towards the door.

“I’m sorry.” He looked repentant. “I need it. I really need it. You don’t know what I’ll see if I’m not…” He trailed off, hooking his fingers together nervously. “I can’t do this-- I can’t go back to seeing… them… and never him.” There was a wobble in the slave’s voice. “You remind me of him sometimes and I hate it.” Dave opened his mouth to inquire about who this him was and if he was really him. But then the slave started to open the door just as the family down the hall set out for school. Dave managed to haul himself up and throw himself against the door in time before the slave got out. He ended up tying him down on the bed as gently as he could. The slave screamed and thrashed until Dave gagged him too. Fuck. How did he get into the mess? They were only three days in and Dave was starting to think he made a mistake helping this man, even if he did look like Klaus.

But where Klaus had been soft and gentle, this man was wild and fierce. He was desperate. He would do anything to survive.He was a force of nature and Dave hated himself for finding it just as appealing as he had found Klaus. They looked too much alike for his sanity. He had taken to calling the man Klaus in his head and he knew it was only a matter of time before the name left his lips. There was too much Klaus inside of him for it to not bleed out when he was cut.

The next day the slave wasn’t thrashing around so much and Dave eased the makeshift gag out of his mouth. He pushed fluids, water and Gatorade, which the man reluctantly took.

“I’m sorry. I can’t let you stay hooked. I can’t afford it for starters and secondly, well, it’s no way to live. Things are going to get better, I promise.” He undid the restraints, rubbing the man’s limbs to insure that his blood was pumping correctly. The slave just laid there, too stunned to move. He took it like he didn’t have a choice. Dave felt his head, it was sticky from sweat. “Let’s get you in the shower. I need to redo your bandages anyway.”

“Are you mad?” The slave asked.

“No.” Dave shook his head. “This is just more work than I thought it would be.”

“Owning another person.” The slave could be charmingly lucid and deep even when he was balls deep in withdrawal. Dave supposed he should be grateful it came in waves, but dear Jehovah, it gave him whiplash.

“I won’t be owning you long.” The slave panicked, Dave could tell from the sharp intake of breath, the muscles tensing up for another attempting at bolting. He recalled the auctioneer’s words and swore under his breath. “I’m going to free you. Not put you down.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Not-Klaus leaned his head back. “When are you going to fuck me? This has got to be the longest amount of time-- unless you already did-- but I wasn’t that out of it.”

“You were pretty out of it during the auction.”

“That’s what they were going for.” The slave was flat on his back, staring at the ceiling, and Dave was rubbing his left leg like his life depended on it. “But it’s never enough for me to be--” He stopped himself. “How about that shower, Master?” The title sounded mocking. “Time’s ticking.” 

“Yea, good idea.”

They got him showered and rebandaged as the withdrawal was building back up. This time he was okay to lie on the air mattress Dave had set up the first night, shivering and sweating under what covers Dave had to spare. He talked to things Dave couldn’t see sometimes but Dave figured it was part of the process-- hallucinations and all that shit. Dave helped him the best he could. 

And then there was the final attempt to escape. Things were said in such detail that Dave didn’t dare think about it for too long, longing for some brain bleach so he could forget. It had been a glimpse of what this man had suffered from his previous masters and for all of the horrors of war that Dave had encountered, he couldn’t fathom that the nation he had fought for would house such atrocities.

Another day passed and then it happened, a breakthrough, a sign that they were almost through. After the incident, the slave had been much more subdued, quietly suffering as if to keep Dave from looking at him with that horrified expression on his face again. The slave had scoffed at his innocence initially, but he seemed like now he was trying to protect it. He was trying to figure something out and so Dave let him be to piece whatever it was together with the exception of bathroom breaks and the pushing of more fluids.

“Dave?” He looked down to see Klaus’s look-alike peering up at him on the couch from the air mattress set up on the floor. He had sweat through the sheets, but at this point they were both too exhausted to deal with that right now. Dave had to physically restrain him from leaving the apartment and going to find a drug dealer to get fucked by to get some decent blow. The slave’s words, not his. He jerked up from the couch.

“What did you call me?” He asked harshly, his face twisted into a hurt expression. He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He had never said his name. He hadn’t given it at the auction or any of the days or nights the slave had been with him.

“You look like someone.” The man trailed off. “But you can’t be him. He died in my arms.” Dave’s heart ached in his chest, a yearning he couldn’t quite place. He rubbed the spot the bullet had entered his heart. There was a scar, but he wasn’t sure if either of them could handle that revelation right now. “His name was Dave and I loved him more than anything in the world.” It was a quiet declaration, barely heard over the pounding of Dave’s heart.

“Klaus?” Dave breathed, feeling as if the room might shrink so small it would crush them both. This was improbable. This was impossible. But he was a man brought back from death… Anything was possible at this point, even Klaus, right?

“What?” The slave pushed himself up, his limbs trembling more from his name than the drugs leaving his system. He had seemed a little stronger today, a little more lucid. “I-- they didn’t-- who?” His eyes welled up with tears and he reached for Dave. “Dave?” 

“You’re really him?” Dave sucked in a shaking breath as Klaus’s fingers brushed against his arm. Not only did he look just like him, he felt like him too. There was that sweet shyness that Dave had thought was lost forever. “Klaus Hargreeves? Vietnam?” He choked up. 

“Yea.” Klaus blinked. “I’m still high… kind of. If you were dead, I wouldn’t be able to see you right now.” Withdrawals sucked. From Dave’s research they were almost through-- Klaus still had some shit in his system and a little more hell to go through. Work had been understanding when he told them about a family emergency, letting him take paid family leave as he nursed his ‘husband’ back to health. He might have not thought that whole thought through, considering how everyone wanted to meet his husband when he was better. Ah, they would deal with that when it came time.

“W-what?!” Dave tried to decipher that statement, but Klaus had managed to get up and throw his too skinny arms around Dave’s neck.

“God, you smell just like him.” Klaus’s nose was buried in his neck. “Smell like home, Dave. Fuck. I missed you. I missed you so much, baby.” Klaus was trembling as Dave slowly wrapped his arms around him. It was going to take much more time to wrap his mind around this, but for now he would enjoy what his body recognized and knew to be true. He had his Klaus back. 

Klaus climbed on to the couch, curling up in Dave’s embrace. He pressed into him, letting out a shaky sigh. He started to cry and Dave cradled him close. He didn’t know what to say. What could he say that could possibly blot out all that Klaus had suffered? He had clearly been through some shit after the war and Dave didn’t know how he still looked so young. Who the fuck had abused his lover and sold him as a slave? Dave was a lover and a fighter and he wanted to make sure Klaus was forever safe with him. 

“I’m going to free you.” Dave told him, stroking his fingers through the tangled curls that had grown so long. His hair was down to his shoulders easily. “I’ve already started the paperwork with a lawyer I’ve found.” Klaus sobbed loudly at that, burying his face into Dave’s chest. Dave continued to play with his hair and hold him close, lying on his back on the couch with Klaus on top of him. He curled around his boyfriend… at least that’s what Klaus had been back in the jungle. “I’m so glad I found you.” He whispered. “You’re safe. I’m going to keep you safe from here on out.”

“You can’t keep me safe from him.” Klaus’s sobs had turned into weeping. Tears streamed down his pretty face as he lifted his head to look at Dave. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Who, baby?” The endearment slipped off lips far too easily but the look of wonderment crossing Klaus’s face made it all worth it. 

“Reginald Hargreeves.” He whispered, his face crumpling. He spat out the last part before burying his face back into Dave’s chest. “My father.”


	3. The Big Baddie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up having to update the tags because of the turn this chapter took. The story is fully plotted out except for some parts with the ending. Dave starts to find out how fucked up Klaus's life has been and we start to find out how much of a fucking asshole Reginald Hargreeves is. 
> 
> (also if anyone is a Reggie fan [I'll be upfront I am not a fan of him], he is the big baddie of this pic, so I apologize in advance. It kind of just happened).

After they got Klaus through the remainder of his withdrawal, Dave found them getting closer and closer together. Dave now shared his bed with Klaus, still amazed at how far the movement for ‘people like them’ had grown. Klaus seemed at ease in this world as was obvious by how easily he touched Dave and how often. Dave found himself still glancing around to make sure no one was looking, something Klaus had been breaking him from doing by drawing him in and kissing him soundly. 

“No one matters but us.” He’d whisper before tangling their fingers together. He always made sure to kiss Dave in public now that he could actually be seen in public. He was healing, the angry cuts on his feet were now soft pink scars that Dave still checked every few days to Klaus’s amusement. Klaus still seemed amused by Dave showing he cared, just like he had when they were in Vietnam. Dave’s clothes hung off of him, a testament to how malnourished he had been for who knows how long. Dave liked to cook for him or take him out on dates, make sure he was being fed properly. And while Klaus’s eyes twinkled at the special treatment, he never let on if he knew it was on purpose or not. 

He had always been skinny, even in Vietnam, but Klaus was currently gaunt, and Dave was doing everything in his power to change that.

“I want to tell you what happened.” Klaus said one day as they sat at an outside table at a cute, little cafe.

“Are you sure?” Ever since the day Klaus implied his own father had something to do with the situation Dave had rescued him in, he had refused to say anything more. There was a fear in his eyes that broke Dave’s heart every time. Klaus would look over his shoulder as if Reginald was there behind him and then look at Dave like he was trying to make sure Dave was really there. Klaus had always been jumpy, had refused to talk about his dad a lot, but this was something new, something more.

Klaus looked next to their table, his eyes narrowing as if someone was standing next to their table, saying something he didn’t like. Dave double-checked to make sure the waiter hadn’t come back, but no one was there. That had been happening at home too. At first he had thought they were hallucinations from the drugs, but Klaus seemed to be always interacting with the invisible. He would jump and flinch at things Dave didn’t see, trip over empty spaces. He almost always looked haunted except for when he was wrapped up in Dave’s arms and so that was where he spent most of his time. Not that Dave was complaining. He just had a feeling he was being left out of something important. “You okay?” Dave asked. “What is it?”

“Dave, I see dead people.” Klaus bit his bottom lip, his dark lashes fluttering as he blatantly braced himself for a negative reaction.

“Like Sixth Sense?” Dave enjoyed catching up on good cinema. He had actually seen that one. 

“Exactly.” Klaus looked a little irritated but his expression shifted to something more neutral. Dave hated the neutral face, hated that his expressive boyfriend had been beat so fucking much that he learned to hide himself away. “Just like that.” His expression flickered as Dave reached over and took his hand. At first, Dave had been afraid to touch Klaus, but he had learned within a few days that Klaus needed positive, gentle touching. It grounded him. 

“You don’t have to hide from me. I love you, ghosts and all.” Dave glanced down, his ears burning red as he realized what he had said. Klaus squeezed his hand, now wearing a shit-eating grin. 

“I love you too, baby.” He said happily. “And yes, I’m sure. I should have told you sooner. It all starts with seeing the dead.” He shivered. “I didn’t ask to see them and I don’t like to see them. The only way I can escape them is through drugs or alcohol.” He paused. “Or you. It’s different with you than with the other stuff.” He hurried to clarify. “I can tune them out better without any substances when you’re around. Although Vietnam was tough.” He tacked on. “So many lost, sad boys wandering through the jungle.” Dave shuddered. He had seen enough of those alive. Hell, that was what he saw when he first found Klaus clutching a briefcase to his chest.

“You saw them in Vietnam?” He asked. Klaus had looked haunted back then too, covering in blood and bruises.

“I’ve seen them all my life.” Klaus shrugged. “It’s my thing. Everyone in my family has a thing.” He stared off into the distance, down the street. “No one knows why or even where we came from. Sometimes I wish I had gotten to skip out on all of it.” He shook his head, his curls moving in the wind. He reached up to tug on them, frowning at the length. “Dave, can we go for a hair cut after this?” He still asked for things like he expected Dave to say no or worse, punish him for even asking. Dave nodded, sipping on his water. 

“Yes, of course.”

“Thanks.” A little, shy smile peeked out before he continued his story of origin. “My father isn’t really my father. He just… more or less bought my siblings and I from various women around the world. None of us have the same mom, we were all just freaks that happened at the same time.” Klaus blinked back some unnamed emotion that Dave had noticed, the sense of not belonging even in the one place someone is supposed to belong. Klaus’s family had never been a family for him, not really. “He trained us like the military. He wanted us to use our powers.” Klaus gave Dave a small, ashamed smile as he waved his fingers at Dave. “Guess who is afraid of ghosts? And no amount of locking me up in the mausoleum was ever able to cure me.” He frowned, remembering how cold and dark it had been, how frightened he had been, how angry his father had been. “Reginald finally realized I was a waste of his time, money, and family name. He sold as soon as he was able to find me, shipping me off to the scum of the earth to show just what he thought of me. And that was after he showed me himself--” Klaus broke off, visibly upset, bumping their table as he struggled to get up. “What kind of sick fuck--” He trailed off as he realized everyone was staring at them. “Oh, sorry!” He waved breezily, pasting on a smile no one realized was fake except for Dave. Dave stared at him in horror, putting the pieces together that Klaus had a fucking disaster of a childhood and not much of a better time in adulthood. “He did shit to me that no one should ever have to endure.” Klaus whispered harshly, his face void of any emotion. That was honestly worse to Dave. Dave reached for him but Klaus pulled back. 

He was so fucking pale, almost like a ghost himself. “I want to go home, Dave.” He said in a voice so empty of all that he must be feeling that Dave nodded and hurried off to go pay the check. When he came back, Klaus was gone.

\----

“What do you want, Pogo?” Reginald Hargreeves didn’t even look up from the papers on his desk. “I am busy.”

“It’s Number Four, sir. He has been freed.”

“Put the paperwork in the pile to be burned. I won’t sign it.”

“No.” Pogo sighed. “I mean he has been legally freed. Your plan--”

“Is fine. We have Vanya still as backup.”

“But for how long? She will find out some day, mark my words.” Reginald Hargreeves did look up from his desk for that comment, pushing his glasses up his nose to stare Pogo down.

“Of course, she will if you keep running your mouth.” He quietly chastised his associate. “Number Four was a waste of time and money, although he did have other… uses.” Reginald looked thoughtful. “We’ll keep an eye on him. Put him down if he tries to contact his siblings. While he’s not much of a threat, he does know a little too much. Put Diego on it.”

“Sir?”

“What are you questioning me about now?” There was that exasperated sigh that his children would have already backed down at.

“Diego is sentimental.”

“Then have Allison send him on the mission.” Reginald was stone once more, back to his business, back to his papers. “I won’t waste another moment on Number Four, Pogo. Watch him and if he gets too close, have him eliminated.”

“What about his other uses?” Pogo didn’t bother to hide his disapproval at what those uses might be. 

“Mmm, that’s true. I could use him for one final mission. His swan song.” Reginald smirked. “Fine. Have Number Four brought in. We’ll give him a refresher course before the mission, recalibrate any parts that need reminding of who and what he is, and then send him on his merry way. And then the house goes boom.”

“Very well, sir.” Pogo said sadly. “Do you still want Allison and Diego to handle it?”

“Nah, the goons will be enough. Number Four is too weak to fight them off. He never harnessed his powers properly… a fucking disappointment. I want him brought to my office. I’ll handle his refresher training myself.” 

“Yes, sir.” Pogo walked off, leaving Reginald to focus on his precious paperwork. Only when the chimpanzee was gone did Reginald look up, glancing at the portrait of the prodigal son with a chilling smile.

“It will be a bittersweet reunion.” He promised the portrait, knowing full well the last time he had Klaus in this office, he had reduced him to tears in minutes. The boy had always been weak and the man no less. He would enjoy taking him apart again. The weak always ended up as toys for those much stronger than them and rightfully so. He had earned his place in the world and so had Klaus. He was an embarrassment to the Academy’s name, to Reginald’s name, and for that he would pay until the day he died.

Just like all others who disappointed Reginald Hargreeves.


	4. make me yours before I go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more secrets come out.

Once upon a time the ghost that followed Klaus around faithfully had been a living, breathing brother. Ben had been the most ferocious of them all and yet the gentlest of all of them. He hated taking lives, something that his superpower made it so easy to do. Reginald had been pissed at Ben longer than he had been angry with Klaus and one day when Ben refused to be the monster Reginald was molding him to be, Reginald shot him.

Ben kept tabs on his siblings after that moment. He also kept watch on his murderer.

“Klaus.” He slouched in Dave’s recently vacated chair. Klaus’s boyfriend was paying for the check. “I need to tell you something. You’re not safe.” Klaus’s eyes widened in fear, a fear that Ben knew so well. It was a fear that made his dead heart ache. Reginald had always been so absolute in the Umbrella Acacdemy. He had abused them all to know their place, but he had abused Klaus the worst.

Ben knew all the dirty secrets of the Hargreeves family, but he didn’t share them, not until today.

“Let’s go.” Klaus hurried into the nearest drug store, pulling Dave’s hoodie up to hide his face. “What is it, Ben?” He murmured in a low voice as he perused the Walgreen’s make up section. He needed some new eyeliner. Maybe some lipstick. It would feel nice to at least look like his old self again.

“They’re coming for you. You have an hour tops. He’s planning something big, something final.” Klaus’s eyes closed as fear lanced through his heart. For all his fear of ghosts, he was more terrified of what would happen when he became one too. He didn’t want to die. For all his near death attempts, he never wanted them to be final.

“He’s going to kill me.” It wasn’t a question.

“Just like he killed me.” Ben hesitantly revealed. He looked away as his brother reacted. He had hidden it for so long, not because he wanted to protect his fuck of a father but because he wanted to protect his siblings. But he had been cowed by Reginald for too long. No more.

“What?” Klaus opened his eyes, shock evident. Ben put a finger to his lips and Klaus ducked his head back down from all the curious stares. “Maybelline made a new eyeliner!” Klaus improved, looking around the store with fake cheeriness. He got a few smiles, an eye roll, and a couple looks of pure disgust. He shrugged them all off and picked up a couple tubes. “Ben-- he told us you killed yourself…” Klaus was horrified and rightfully so. “Ben.” His eyes watered. “We believed your killer. We didn’t get you any justice.” He swiped at his eyes. “Fuck. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I didn’t want to have you in this position. You against him. All of you against him. He’s more organized… more ruthless. He set it up as a test. I had to use my powers or be killed. I thought he was bluffing...” Ben replied simply. “Also Vanya has powers.” He tacked on, cocking his head. “Dad-- Reginald made Allison convince her that she was ordinary. He’s going to use her to end the world.”

“Ben.” Klaus was pale again. “We have to tell her. We have to tell everybody. I’m the last person to want a big family reunion, but fuck, our siblings need to know.” His hands were trembling, fingers tight around the tubes of eyeliner, knuckles white. “I don’t want to die, Ben.”

“Why do you think I’m telling you?” Ben sighed. “I don’t want you to die either, Klaus. Tell Dave. If anything happens to you, he needs to find Allison, Vanya, and Diego.”

“Yea, I wouldn’t send him to Luther either.” Klaus deadpanned. A faint smile crossed Ben’s face. An almost agreement. Luther had always adored their father and that had ended disastrously for him in more ways than one. The big buffoon was still too blind to see it.

“I don’t want you to join me, Klaus. You have something good with Dave. You have a real chance for a life outside of our fucked up family.”

“Gee, thanks.” But Ben saw his tiny smile despite the dire situation building and threatening to consume him. Klaus was in love and he was in love with a good man. Ben knew they needed Dave on their side. He had put two and two together and figured out that Dave was supposed to be dead. Who knows? Maybe the forces that saved Dave would eventually save him too. Ben would have done anything to come back once upon a time, but now he wondered if he was too used to being dead to care anymore. He still had Klaus and Klaus never tried to control him or his powers. There was a certain safety that came with being dead. A safety that Ben wasn’t sure he could give up.

“Klaus!” The two brothers turned to see a frantic Dave rush into the Walgreens. “Oh my god, Klaus, you’re okay.” He ran over and grabbed Klaus’s hands. “Are you hurt?”

“I just wanted to pick up some eyeliner.” Klaus made a face at his boyfriend. “You’re making a scene.”

“I was worried.” Dave said in a quieter voice. “You were just gone. Luckily, one of the waiters had seen you rush off in a hurry.”

“I needed to get out of there.” Klaus said softly. “Dave, I need you to listen to me. Something bad is coming, something really bad.”

“How do you know?” But bless him, concern was already streaked across the other man’s face. He pulled Klaus into a tight hug, kissing his forehead. Klaus didn’t think he’d ever be able to be used to the affection and love Dave gave him so freely. Positive affection had always been so hard to come by. He dated and fucked sleazebag after douchebag until Reginald found out and put him to use in other ways. Klaus wasn’t ready to see him, would never be ready to see him, but he would face the monster that hunted him if it meant keeping Dave safe. “Is it the ghosts?” Dave asked softly. Klaus liked that he was genuinely asking; he liked that Dave seemed to genuinely believe him.

“Yea, my brother, Ben, he’s dead. He warned me about my... dad.” Klaus pulled away and waved the eyeliners in front of Dave’s face. “Can I get these?” He asked softly as if Dave would ever say no. “And a lipstick?”

“It’s make-up.” A crease appeared in Dave’s forehead. “I didn’t know you liked make-up.”

“I wore it a lot before I met you.” Klaus smirked. “And after you.”

“I don’t see why not.” Dave put on a brave face. Things were different now. Klaus could wear make up if he wanted to. Dave would make sure of it. And if anyone tried to call Klaus a sissy because of it, well, Dave would punch their teeth out.

“Dave, it’s New York City. Everyone wears makeup at some time.” Klaus picked out a light pink lipstick from the display and then grabbed a mascara too. “I can teach you.”

“I’m happy to watch.” Klaus shivered at those words.

“Ask if they have a bathroom when we buy these.” He said, forming a plan in his mind. He knew how he wanted to spend these last happy minutes. He wanted to spend them with Dave.

“Okay.” Dave shrugged. “You okay?”

“I only have less than an hour of freedom, baby, and I know exactly how I want to spend it.” Klaus gave him a wicked grin that Dave did not know how to interpret. Dave paid for the make up and handed it over to his boyfriend.

“Do you have a public restroom?” He asked the cashier politely. Klaus hid a giggle. Dave was old-fashioned polite and while some New Yorkers did not know what to do with that, most of them ate it up. Gods, his boyfriend was so cute.

“Ah, yea, straight to the back, next to the pharmacy.” The cashier told him.

“Thank you.” Dave bobbed his head.

“No problem. Have a good day.”

“Thank you, you as well.” Klaus took his hand as they walked towards the back of the store.

“You’re so fucking polite, you know that?” He smirked, bumping into Dave’s hip on purpose.

“And you’re a wild animal.” Dave replied without missing a beat. Klaus’s eyes flashed at that. Was that a challenge? It had been a long time since they had done anything sexual, like back in the jungle long time ago. Dave had been a perfect gentleman but right now, Klaus was needing a little more.

“You have no idea… but you’re about to get an inkling.” He leaned in to kiss Dave’s cheek and then he pressed his lips against a spot that made Dave make a soft sound neither of them were prepared for. Klaus pushed Dave into the bathroom, thanking the gods that it was single-occupancy. He flipped the light on, locked the door, and started stripping. “Clothes off, Dave, hurry.”

“Klaus…” He looked over to see his boyfriend resembling a goldfish, gaping at his bare skin. What a cutie.

“I’ve got forty minutes, Dave, and I want you inside me before that time is up.” Klaus swore, fishing lube and condoms out of his sweatshirt pocket. He didn’t have time to play house anymore as nice as that was. He’d play house forever as long as it was with Dave. Dave was his forever.

“Where did you get those?” Dave asked. “Those were not in there before I gave you that hoodie to wear.” Klaus enjoyed how scandalized Dave was already. He didn’t remember Dave being so shy when they were getting handsy in Vietnam, in fact, back then Klaus had always been the shy one.

“I nicked them.” Klaus already had the lube open and two fingers pushing back into his own hole.

“Fuck, Klaus.” Dave cussed. This was obscene. It was too much and yet… he wanted more. Klaus tossed him a condom and a look that said everything that Klaus didn’t dare say. If everything Klaus was saying was true, well, Dave wouldn’t deny him this. He pushed his pants and underwear down, putting the condom on. The lube was tossed at him next while Klaus scrawled something on a paper towel, writing in eyeliner. He put the paper towel in the hoodie’s pocket that he tossed on the floor.

“That’s important. Don’t read it until I’m gone.” Dave hated the look in Klaus’s eyes. He knew that look. He probably had that look in his own eyes when he hurled himself in front of Klaus when that ambush happened. “Don’t try to save me until you’ve read the towel. Promise me, Dave.” Klaus was looking in the mirror, applying makeup as Dave lubed up his cock. “Promise me.” Klaus popped his lips, now cotton candy pink with a subtle shimmer. Dave wanted to kiss him. He wanted to bend him over that sink and fuck him. Dave watched in awe as Klaus put on the mascara and eyeliner. It suited him. It was like his war paint.

“I want to fuck you. You look so beautiful.” So he wasn't the most poetic when he was aroused. Klaus didn't seem to mind. Dave wrapped his arms around Klaus’s bare torso, pressing against his body. Klaus took his cock in hand, guiding it inside of him.

“Then fuck me, Dave.” He gave permission, bracing himself against the sink as Dave took him by the hips. If Dave had known he would ever be fucking his boyfriend in a drug store bathroom, in a fucking public place, he would have been in disbelief. But now that he was here and so was Klaus, everything was so hot, everything was so perfect. Klaus kissed him over his shoulder, smearing pink lipstick on both of them as Dave fucked him in an even rhythm that took them both quickly. He cried out, forgetting where they were as he came inside of Klaus. Klaus whined as Dave took him in hand, helping him reach his climax.

Panting, sweating, and shaking with pleasure--- they peeled away from each other to clean up and to dress. Klaus handed him the sweatshirt he had borrowed with that look in his eyes, a look that promised all the ill he had foretold would come to pass. Dave took the sweatshirt, silently vowing that he would get Klaus back even if fate was trying to steal him away again.

“Open up!” A man pounded on the door with his fist and Klaus rushed into Dave, kissing him deeply.

“Don’t do anything until I’m gone.” He jabbed a finger into Dave’s chest before he went over and unlocked the door. Four men in black grabbed him and dragged him away, Klaus letting them take him quietly. He didn’t fight, pressing his lips together to stay silent as he was bundled into a car and driven back to the family home. It was time to face his worst nightmare. It was time to face his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have to end with a warning for the next chapter. It's a shit show of triggers, I'm going to tell you right now. Reginald does not have nice plans for Klaus. So the short list is attempted murder, torture, abuse, whipping, rape/non-con, etc. I wanted to warn people early because I've added an extra chapter to this story so that chapter 5 can be skipped and then chapter six will have the wrap up. Please take care of you!


	5. dance for me, dance for me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the chapter with all the triggers. DO NOT READ if any of the tags are triggers for you.
> 
> Again main ones are rape/non-con, weird incest, past child abuse, past underage sexual abuse (hinted at, nothing graphic), torture, gore, blood, explosions, suicide, attempted murder. The whole gammit really. You can skip this chapter and just move on to chapter six once I get it up. GISH is tomorrow so I might be tied up, but I'm hoping to have the fic finished by tomorrow night or the night after. Thank you for reading and commenting and kudoing and bookmarking and subscribing. It's v encouraging!
> 
> -fluffy

Reginald scowled as someone pushed his door open so hard that it hit the wall with a bang.

“For Christ’s sake, the wallpaper!” He corrected snidely, not looking up from his paperwork. There was the sound of a brief struggle and then silence. Slowly, Reginald Hargreeves looked up from his desk to lock eyes with his long lost Number Four. He was gagged and bound, forced into a kneeling position before Reginald’s desk. And as delicious as all of that was, what Reginald loved most was the fear in Number Four’s eyes. “The gag.” One of the goons pulled it off, revealing messy pink lipstick smeared over plush lips. Reginald had to marvel at just how beautiful Number Four was like this: helpless and completely at his mercy.

Ironic. He had used to despise the child for his fear but now he relished it in the adult. “Leave us. Guard the door.” The goons left, leaving Klaus deposited on the floor, shutting the door behind them. Klaus was trapped. There was no way out except for Reginald. “Number Four.” Reginald smirked. “On your knees again, I see. Fucking idiots in public again?” Number Four had a reputation on the streets that he’d do anything for drugs and while Reginald had exploited that, he was both disgusted and impressed that even as a free man Number Four had gone right back to it.

“I have to keep busy somehow.” Klaus knew how to pretend to be indifferent. He knew how it drove Reginald crazy. “Since the superhero shit didn’t pan out.”

“How did you convince your latest master, David Katz, to free you?”

“Not hard to win a man over, Dad.” Klaus put extra emphasis on the title. Reggie hated that. “You should try it.”

“I don’t need to win anyone over. I take what I want and the world lets me.”

“‘It’s because I’m strong, Number Four, and you’re weak. That’s why you’re in this position.’” Klaus mocked before Reginald had a chance to continue his usual spiel. Gods, he was so boring. And terrifying. Klaus steeled himself, locking eyes with Ben before the ghost hunched over himself. He wasn’t alone. Dave was going to get help. Ben was here. He was going to survive this. He just had to play his cards right.

“You’ve always been so petty.” Reginald observed. He could tell Number Four was trying to bait him, but he wasn’t sure why. Number Four was either trying to pretend he wasn’t terrified or he was trying to protect someone. Could it be he was trying to protect his master? He made a mental note to send his goons out to retrieve the man once he was done with Number Four. “I will have to gag you for tonight then.”

“No!” Klaus breathed out, panicked. “Please. No gags. I’ll be good.” Reginald enjoyed the side, Number Four rattled by a threat Reginald would make good on, blood draining from his cheeks. God, his cheekbones. Reginald wanted to hit him for being so pretty. And annoying.

“Yes, you will be.” Reginald agreed. He rose from his desk, a knife in hand, as he approached Number Four. He cut through his bonds. “Take your clothes off. I have a punishment for you.” Number Four went to stand up but Reginald kicked him, knocking him down. “Stay where you belong, Number Four. Don’t make this worse than it needs to be, although it will be no skin off my nose if you want to prolong things.” Klaus shook his head, mute. He pulled his shoes and socks off. His fingers were shaking as he undid his pants and shoved them down along with his underwear. Lastly, he removed his shirt, yanking it over his head. Reginald’s eyes gleamed as he took in the milky white skin. He was surprisingly unblemished, only a few new scars. “You stink of sex.” Reginald observed. “What a disappointment you turned out to be, Number Four. Only good for beating and fucking. You will make my friends very happy tonight, very happy indeed.” He walked over to the door and locked it. He then crossed the room to open his cabinet, selecting a whip at random. They were all designed to hurt. He just needed to make this point and then they could save the real fun for later. Number Four didn’t need to know that. “Get up and bend over the desk, Number Four. I need to have a good look at you.”

“Yes, sir.” Number Four mumbled and Reginald smiled. Good. His boy hadn’t forgotten everything he had taught him.

“Count the strokes.” Reginald ordered before bringing the whip down hard on Number Four’s shoulder blade. It shook Number Four from his head to his toes, not that there was much left to him after four years of slavery.

“O-o-one.” He sniffled and Reginald brought the whip down on his ass next, earning a howl of pain. “T-two.” The whip struck behind his knee and his knee buckled, the weight of his body slamming back into the desk. “Thre-e-e.” Thirty-two strokes later and Klaus was a trembling, sobbing mess, trying to anticipate the next blow. Reginald watched him twitch, trying to be so brave and yet failing. Pathetic and beautiful.

“Come with me, Number Four. It’s time to get you ready for this evening.” He’d leave the dark eyeliner intact. He liked to have some color to track Number Four’s tears with and tonight he’d be present to see the boy be fully taken apart. His lipstick would be freshened up though. It looked better getting fucked up by cocks and spit. Number Four was born to be broken and that was the only reason Reginald hadn’t shot him in the head like his useless brother. Number Four fell in line, following his father like the broken doll he had been the past four years. He would keep Dave safe, he had to. He would survive this night. He had to.

True to his word, Reginald gagged Number Four. It was an annoying, bright red ball gag that irritated Klaus to no end. He hated drooling. He wasn’t so easily silenced so he flipped off the only father he had known and earned a slap across the face for his trouble. He wasn’t wearing much of anything since his father had made it clear he was to pleasure some friends of Reggie’s. He doubted they were truly friends as Reginald didn’t seem to know how to form any kind of true relationship with anyone. The man was incapable of feeling. Pogo was more human than Reggie.

He was loaded into a van and forced to kneel the whole way. It was a good reminder of his life as a slave and Number Four found it easy to slip back into his slave space of a brain. He hadn’t been with Dave long enough to forget how to do that. It was harder without the drugs, but it was drilled into him like so many other things from that delightfully traumatizing chapter of his life. Reggie had used sex and drugs against him. They had been his escapes and then they were transformed into weapons and nightmares.

“Ah, Reginald. I wasn’t expecting you.” Ben whispered into Klaus’s ear that the man at the door was the head of one of the largest crime families in New York.

“He has shit on Reggie.” Ben revealed. “It’s why you’re here. It’s his two birds with one stone.” Ben’s hands made the gesture for explosion, signaling what was going to happen to Klaus if he didn’t get out. “Don’t worry, Klaus. I’ll be here the whole time. I won’t let him kill you.” Ben promised. How? Klaus had to wonder how a dead guy was going to save his ass but he didn’t have time to ask. He was forced to crawl out of the van, wearing a barely there, silky, black slip. He crawled from the van to the door, gagged, collared and leashed.

“What’s this?”

“A peace offering.” Reginald spoke up. “A pleasure offering.”

“Ah, fine, come in. He’s cute. Where’d you find him?”

“My house.” Reginald said dryly. “Meet Number Four.”

“Shit, your own kid?” The mob boss seemed a little shaken by that. Klaus couldn’t figure out what Reggie was playing at, bringing him here, giving him more dirt to use as ammunition.

“Not my kid, not my blood. I just raised his useless ass.” That shouldn’t have stung but it did.

“It doesn’t look useless from here.” The man checked Klaus’s ass out, tugging up the dress to expose him. “What’s with the lashes?”

“Well, you can try it and let me know.” Reginald handed the leash over to the man who pulled gently. Klaus crawled after him, into the air conditioned house. “And he disobeyed. He needed to remember his place and I do enjoy carving a good lesson into his skin.”

“He’s well-trained.” The other man nodded.

“He’s been a slave for four years. He’ll do his best to please you.” Klaus eyed the bag Reginald retrieved from the van. He hadn’t seen that earlier. “Shall we bring him downstairs?”

“I’ll take him into the bedroom first. Get acquainted.” The man smirked. Reginald nodded and Klaus was led down a long hallway into an expensively decorated bedroom. He found himself flat on his back at the edge of the bed, a strange man in between his legs. His fingers had found his entrance and were carefully probing. “God, he didn’t even prep you.” The man sympathized. “Hang in there, Klaus. Help is coming. I will keep this going as long as I need to.” Klaus gaped at him from behind the gag, his eyes asking the questions he couldn’t speak. “I heard a rumor he’s trying to kill us both tonight but it won’t work.” The man winked, pressing a lubed finger inside of Klaus. “The least I can do is prep you because that fucking monster won’t.” Klaus arched his back, whimpering into the gag. Dave had gotten the message to his siblings, at least Allison. He felt a spark of hope illuminate his heart. He could actually maybe survive this. After a few minutes, the man removed his fingers. “I’ve done what I can, but I don’t know what that madman has planned. I have to keep up appearances and so do my men.” Klaus winced but nodded. He was then led out of the bedroom, down another hall, past the kitchen and dining room, and into the living room where ten men or so were lounging around on couches. Klaus’s heart sank as some of them visibly lit up when they saw him, hunger in their eyes. Reginald had a few more whores brought in, and then Klaus and the others were passed around. Klaus was loathe to admit he was relieved to trade the ball gag for a cock. But thankfully no one asked.

”Let’s talk business.” Reginald spoke up as Klaus knelt at the other man’s feet, warming his cock with his mouth. His eyes were distant, his jaw ached, but he was relieved for the respite from the steady fucking. “I know you have some unsavory proof of that deal gone bad last summer.”

”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

”Listen up and listen well.” Reggie hissed Ana Klaus couldn’t help but listen in. Not much rattled Sir Reginald Hargreeves. “That crack whore sucking your cock flunked out of the academy because he can see dead people and doesn’t do anything with it. He can see and talk with every person you ever had disappear.”

”So?”

”So... you burn your evidence and I’ll kill him tonight right in front of you.”

”Why?”

”So we’re both in the clear. I’d hate for either of us to go to jail over a misunderstanding. I’d hate for our friendship to go sour after all these years.”

”Fine. Deal.” Klaus started but Reginald swatted his ass, reminding him to stay put. “Not ‘til we’ve had our fill of him first though.” The mob boss added. “He’s too pretty to kill right away.”

”Agreed.” Reggie gave Klaus that look that made him shiver. He had yet to touch him like he used to, but Klaus knew he would try soon. There was no escaping once he had caught the eye of Reggie Hargreeves.

Hours trickled by and Klaus was exhausted. He was sweaty, dirty, and crusty. His make up was almost as fucked up as he was. Reginald called him from across the room and Klaus forced himself up, crawling over.

“Up, boy, you know what I want.” Klaus did know what he wanted, what he had wanted since Klaus had been deposited on the floor of his office for the first time in four years. Klaus opened his mouth obediently and Reginald thrust his cock in. Klaus gagged, not necessarily because of the cock, but because of whose it was. He tried to suck but then Reginald pulled out, hitting Klaus’s cheeks and lips with his cock. He flinched each time, trying to take it, trying to wait it out. So damn jumpy. Reggie had always had a soft spot for Klaus, ever since the mausoleum. The ghosts had almost become a relief after Reggie was done with him. Almost. He shivered, checking out of his body as he focused on the task at hand: staying alive. Reggie let him suck a little while longer before he had something else in mind.

”What are you going to fuck him?” The mob boss was very intrigued where this was all going. Reginald ignored him, keeping his focus on Number Four and his sad, scared eyes. 

“Go over to that wall.” He retrieved his bag and pulled out a stud finder.

“I hate to break it to you, Reggie.” The mob boss slurred. “That is the unsexiest thing you could have brought out right now.”

“It will get better.” Reginald said slyly. He dragged the stud finder over the wall until it lit up. He dropped the tool and grabbed Klaus’s wrist and forced it up against the wall in the same spot. “Goons.” He added. Klaus started to struggle when he saw the hammer in the first guy’s hands.

“No, please, no!” He shrieked. “Let me go! Fuck! No!”

“Quiet!” Reginald ordered, slamming him into the wall so hard that Klaus saw stars. He whimpered but still tried to pull free. A nail was pressed against his wrist and then it sank in when the hammer struck it, a metallic clunk that was drowned out by Klaus’s scream. The mob boss looked sick and so did his men as the nail was forced all the way through and into the support beam. Klaus wasn’t going anywhere. He tugged at the nail once and let out a howl, his shrieks becoming more and more pronounced as the pain grew. Blood dribbled down his arm as he tried to stay still but he was too weak to keep his balance on his tip toes. His face was shiny with tears, streaks of black dripping down sharp cheekbones, towards the groomed scruff he called facial hair. His lips were swollen, no longer pink but red, still wet from sucking Reggie’s cock.

Reginald repeated the process with the other side, pinning Klaus’s other arm to the wall. This time, Klaus managed to move his arm just as the nail went in. It pierced his hand this time, ripping through inked flesh. His cry of pain chilled the room as he stood on his tiptoes, one wrist secure and one hand half nailed to the wall. It hurt too much to move, to breathe, and yet he had to move, to breathe. He cried and wailed, screaming like a banshee. Reginald stood in front of him, relishing each scream.

“Perfect. You have the prettiest tears, Number Four.” And before Klaus’s pain-addled mind could process, Reggie had him pinned up against the wall, fucking him slowly, jostling his hand and wrist with each thrust. Klaus was near unconsciousness by the time Reginald finished. He fought to stay coherent but it was so hard. It hurt so much. He couldn’t stop crying out. He was in far too much pain to stay silent.

“My turn.” The mob boss replaced Reggie and Klaus cried out yet again. It was too much. “I’ve got you.” The mob boss whispered. It took Klaus several minutes to realize that the man had taken all his weight, not that there was much of that, and was supporting him, not fucking him.

“Allison? What are you doing here?” Klaus raised bloodshot eyes to see his sister walk in. Knives flew from behind Allison, striking down each and every one of Reginald’s goons. Diego was here too.

“I heard a rumor that you killed yourself.” Allison said, a hard look in her eyes. The room watched, too transfixed to look away as Reginald took one of the goon’s guns and shot himself. “Oh my god, Klaus.”

“Allison.” Klaus tried to smile and failed miserably. He let out a keening wail. “It hurts.”

“I heard a rumor it didn’t hurt so much anymore.” She whispered, carding a hand through his long curls that he had never gotten cut. He sucked in a relieved breath as much of the pain abated. He looked over at his hand and gritted his teeth, yanking his hand free.

“Fuck!” He screeched, staring at his mangled hand in horror. He had loved that tattoo and not because his entire family hated it.

“Klaus!” Dave came bolting in. “Klaus!” His voice was welcome over the din that insured as Eudora Patch and her friends in blue showed up next.

“Here, here.” The mob boss eased Klaus over into Dave’s arms. He and his men fled, Patch and the cops in pursuit. It was a fucking madhouse but Dave and Klaus has only eyes for each other. Despite the pain, Klaus was relaxing into Dave, resting his chin on his shoulder. Dave didn’t even seem bothered by his appearance, his mostly ripped dress that showed everything by now, the abuse evident all over his body. The bruises and discharge alone should have sent the handsome man packing but here he was, holding Klaus up so they could get him down.

“Baby.” Dave’s eyes welled up with tears. “What the fuck did they do to you? I’m here. I followed your plan. We’re going to get you out.” Klaus hummed one response, just content to be held by his Dave. Dave was safe. He kept him safe. Reggie didn’t get to him.

“We’re running out of time, Allison.” Vanya stepped into the room. “The basement is rigged to blow in twelve minutes.”

“We need a hammer!” Allison yelled.

“What?!” Dave gave her a look that dared her to try to come near his boyfriend with a hammer.

“It’s okay, baby.” Klaus sagged into Dave’s strong arms. “It doesn’t hurt as badly anymore.”

“That doesn’t make it better.” Dave couldn’t look as the nail was pried out of Klaus’s wrist. He wouldn’t. What kind of monster nails their adoptive son to a wall? It was bad enough to feel Klaus writhe in his arms, screaming and crying because of the pain. He sagged back against Dave when it was out, whimpering like an lost puppy. Dave scooped him up, not caring about the blood or anything else. No one was touching Klaus but him.

“We’ve got to go.” Allison ordered. It was interesting to see her take charge like this, stepping out of Luther’s shadow. Klaus kind of liked it. “We can discuss that somewhere safer.” She smiled. Apparently he had said that all out loud. He caught sight of Ben who gave him a reassuring grimace of a smile as he was bundled out of the mansion and into a waiting ice cream truck?

“It was the only thing we could steal in such short notice.” Diego shrugged. “First aid kit is in the glove box.”

“Drive to the hospital, you moron.” Vanya rolled her eyes with a faint smile. “You’re safe, Klaus. We got you out.” As they drove down the long driveway, the tinny music playing overhead as the mansion behind them exploded into thousands of little pieces.

“Dave?”

“I’m here.” Klaus kind of wanted to hold his boyfriend’s hand, but he couldn’t, not until Dave wrapped them both up in gauze.

“Hold hands?” Klaus’s eyelids were starting to droop.

“Of course, baby, of course, I’ll hold your hand.” Klaus hummed happily as Dave took his less injured hand and held it gently. He drifted off with a little smile on his face, nuzzling his face against Dave’s leg as they raced to the hospital. He’d rather be held but he kind of just wanted to sleep for a long time.


	6. the wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you skipped the last chapter, this chapter is a year and a half after the Umbrella Academy, Dave, the cops, and Eudora Patch rescue Klaus from the clutches of the evil and abusive Reginald Hargreeves. Reggie kills himself thanks to a suggestion from Allison and the gang drives Klaus who is in really rough shape to the hospital in a stolen ice cream truck. (Reggie nailed him to a wall-- I only include that bc he references a scar from it in this fic). And now you're pretty much caught up!

It had been about a year and a half since the fateful day that Reginald Hargreeves did the world a favor and shot himself. Dave was glad, even though he preferred to never speak or hear that name again. Klaus didn’t mind. He said his part in therapy, called Reggie every name in the book and then made up some new ones on his own. It was therapeutic… as was throwing knives at any pictures of Reggie that they found. Diego’s idea. Even Dave joined. At long last, Klaus felt like he finally had a family and at the center of it was Dave. He loved Dave. He’d do anything for Dave. And Dave was probably the only person in the world who felt the same way about him.

He looked at himself in the mirror, spreading his skirt out with his hands. He looked good. He looked healthy. He glanced down at his wrist, the pink scar a reminder of that exciting, horrible night. It was still a source of nightmares, as were the ghosts, but Klaus was not going to live his life terrified of Reginald, dead or alive. He dreaded the day Reggie tried to haunt him as a ghost, but it hadn’t happened yet. He was hoping it never would. But today was not the day to be worrying about that. He was getting married today! He and Dave were getting married today and it was the happiest of days! He pursed his lips at his reflection, adding his final touches. He loved highlighter, especially since they were getting married outside.

“Are you almost ready?” Vanya knocked on the door before letting herself in. “Oh, Klaus!” She covered her mouth with her hands. “You look beautiful!”

“I know.” Klaus beamed. “Thank you!” He had on a white, halter dress that fell just below his knees. It was breezy and beautiful and he felt so good in it. He couldn’t wait for Dave to see him-- he couldn’t wait to see him! “It’s inspired by Marilyn Monroe!” He shoved his hands into the dress’s pockets. “And it has pockets!”

“I love it.” Vanya laughed, sharing in her brother’s delight. It was good to see Klaus so happy. He deserved to be happy-- they all did. “Dave is going to love it too.”

“I know I love it too!” Allison chimed in as she came in through the door. “Oh, yes, honey, yes.” She grinned. “You look so good!” 

“Thanks!” Klaus couldn’t help but swirl the skirt around. He looked better than he had in years, even before the years of slavery happened. He had filled out more than he ever had before, mostly due to Dave’s good cooking. Dave had a habit of teaching him good habits. Klaus loved him more than anything, even more than himself.

“Hey.” Klaus, Vanya, and Allison looked over to see Five walk in. “How’s the big day going?”

“Five?!” They gasped in unison as he smiled, swaggering in. He was looking more their actual age since the last time they had seen him. 

“What’s going on there, big guy?” Klaus hurried over and hugged him. “It’s good to see you. You’re just in time.”

“I was pleased to get an invitation.” Five smirked. “I didn’t get you a wedding gift, but I figured that Dave was a good enough gift.”

“What?” Klaus took a step forward, cocking his head. He squinted his eyes at Five as he pieced together what Five was saying. “You gave me Dave back?”

“I pissed some people off back at the Commission, but I said hey, Klaus deserves a break and the Apocalypse needs to be stopped. What was it that old Reginald used to say, oh yes, ‘I killed two birds with one stone.’” Klaus flinched and Allison and Vanya jerked back. “Yea, I know I’m not supposed to talk about him, but fuck him, we all deserve today, especially Klaus and Dave.” Five shrugged. “I’m honestly so happy for you two.”

“Thank you for bringing him back.” Klaus blinked back tears. “Everything has been better with him.”

“I told them you were meant to be, but it was you two who sold the story.” Five grabbed a glass of champagne and lifted it up. “To Klaus and Dave.” He smiled.

“Shit, we’re going to be late for the first look!” Klaus glanced at the clock. “Thanks, little bro.” He kissed Five on the cheek. “I gotta go see my man!” He glanced over at Vanya. “You blindfolded him, right?”

“I did.” Diego opened the door, offering his arm to escort his brother to where Dave was waiting excitedly. “She couldn’t reach.”

“Hey!” Vanya elbowed him. “You almost couldn’t either.” Klaus laughed, open-mouthed and free. The crinkles by his eyes were real as he soaked up all the love his family had banded together.

“Actually, I did the honors.”

“Oh, hey, Luther.” Klaus offered a timid wave. “Long time no see.”

“I gather my invitation got lost in the mail.”

“We didn’t really send out any-- it was more word of mouth and Allison said…”

“Yes, she invited me as her plus one.” Luther blushed as he said it and as much as Klaus wanted to tease him about it, he really just wanted to see his man. 

“See then you were invited, gotta run, toodles!” Klaus slipped past Luther and dashed down the hall. He patted his cropped hair down as he hurried. He needed to see Dave. Needed to touch him. Needed a reminder that this was all real and it was all theirs. He was barefoot, Marilyn Monroe dress flowing out behind him as he ran into the garden. The photographer was snapping pictures but Klaus was focused on the blindfolded dreamboat in the middle of the garden. “Dave!” He exclaimed, taking his soon-to-be husband’s hands. “Oh, Dave!”

“Klaus.” Dave’s face split into a bright grin. He was so handsome standing there in his military uniform. The Commission had fixed the timeline somehow. They had both been in Vietnam but Afghanistan was the new cover. Things had also been altered and smoothed over with Dave’s family-- another gift from Number Five. “It’s so good to hear your voice.” They didn’t like being apart for very long for very obvious reasons. Even waiting apart like this had been a test. “Can we walk in together?”

“I would love that.” Klaus released Dave’s hands to gently remove his blindfold.

“Baby.” Dave’s eyes lit up, taking in his beautiful soon to be handsome. “You’re so beautiful and handsome.” Dave still stumbled over some adjectives, but he knew the ones that Klaus liked most. “So damn sexy too.” His voice deepened and Klaus leaned in for a deep kiss. The photographer was still snapping away, an annoying clicking that Klaus could almost push away for right now. It just reminded him of the ghosts. And he didn’t want to be reminded of any ghosts right now. The only one invited was Ben. They had hired several people to insure the wedding venue was free of any spirit activity other than Ben. Lots of sage beforehand. “Can you wear this to the honeymoon too?”

“You can’t ruin my wedding dress, babe.” Klaus whined before sucking on Dave’s bottom lip.

“Lovebirds!” Allison snapped her fingers, startling them back to the present moment. “You get two weeks to do nothing but that, but let’s make it to the altar first, okay?” Vanya just laughed, covering her mouth with her hands.

“You two are too cute.” She beamed. 

“Aren’t you playing?” Diego reminded her as he walked up to escort Klaus into the ceremony.

Shit!” And Vanya dashed off, Allison not that far behind her. Allison had happily taken on the role of wedding planner when it became apparent that Klaus and Dave didn’t have much planned other than getting married surrounded by their loved ones. She might have gotten them some great discounts, all ethically sourced of course. She only used her powers on that one guy who was trying to be homophobic and shit. Klaus had decided that he had it coming and while Dave didn’t say anything, she could tell in his eyes that he agreed with Klaus.

“Am I still walking you down the aisle?” Diego asked.

“Actually, we’re going to walk down together, Diego, but thank you!” Klaus untangled himself from Dave long enough to walk over to his brother and kiss him on the cheek. “You get the second dance though, okay?”

“Okay.” Diego smiled. “I’m really happy for you.” He glanced over at Dave, clearing his throat. “Both of you. Dave, you’re the best man for my brother and it really is an honor to welcome you to our family.” He took his leave, deciding to walk his mom in instead. Klaus and Dave had been inseparable since the attack and Diego didn’t need a whole lot of explaining as to why.

“This arm taken?” Eudora Patch smirked from the doorway.

“Patch.” Diego grinned. She could tell she had surprised him by the stunned look in his eyes. He blinked as if he didn’t believe she was there. “You came.”

“I did.” She pursed her lips. He had invited her weeks ago and she never responded. But she had always liked Klaus and… well… she had always liked Diego too. “I hope I’m not too late.”

“Nah.” Diego offered his arm like a gentleman and she appreciated getting to see him in a suit instead of leather. Not that she minded the leather. She didn’t. She rather liked it. And she was getting ahead of herself there. “I’m glad you came.” 

Vanya closed her eyes and started to play, her fingers moving deftly over the violin strings. The small group of people were moved by her playing and touched by the love they felt pouring out of her. Love for her family, love for Klaus and Dave, love that they could all be here despite everything. Klaus and Dave walked down the middle aisle, holding hands, looking incredibly happy and content. They walked towards their future together with brave smiles and whole hearts. And as they exchanged rings, vows, and a particularly raunchy kiss, they said fuck you to the timelines and the trauma that tried to keep them apart but failed. They were meant to be, and not just tragically. They were the shit that forever was made of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a fic in under a week even with adding an extra chapter. I'm exhausted and delighted. Thank you all for coming along.  
> Also-- I've been toying with another fic idea of Klaus and Dave being operatives who are given each other as a mission. Obvi they will fall in love. Klaus will have his powers and be horribly underestimated by everyone. Dave will try his best to resist but ultimately fail. If that would be something you'd like to read, please let me know in the comments! (it would be a lot less intense than this fic with a lot less triggers). Thank you all again for coming on this wild ride-- it def felt like an ice cream truck driving dangerously over the speed limit with a ghost in the passenger seat, but we made it. :D
> 
> -fluffy

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I felt like the world needed a slave! Klaus fic but here we are. Poor babies.


End file.
